(On the Japan-U.S. summit meeting)

Today, President Biden and I had three meetings: a one-on-one meeting, a small group meeting, and an extended meeting.

During the small group meeting, we talked mainly about President Biden’s family, a number of our life experiences and such. We were served hamburger steaks, but we were so wrapped up in our conversation that the meeting finished without us even touching them, so I can say we built up our relationship of trust quite considerably.

Also, regarding the issue of Taiwan, it is a fact that there continues to be a severe situation in the Taiwan Strait as well as the area surrounding the Senkaku Islands.

In light of that, as we work towards a resolution, we will place the topmost priority on resolving the issues peacefully. President Biden and I agreed that we both will take that orientation in advancing peace as well as peace of mind and security. Accordingly, we will contribute to the stability and peace of this region while stating clearly to China that which needs to be said and should be said.

 (On the spread of infection by the novel coronavirus)

In the part of the meetings in which President Biden and I discussed coronavirus countermeasures, we talked about the current situation in the U.S. and in Japan. The special characteristics of variants of the coronavirus in the U.S. didn’t come up in our discussions.

As for Osaka, priority measures, such as for prevention of the spread of disease, are being implemented, and not even two weeks have passed since these measures began. I think we’ll have to make a decision after looking at the situation.

At the same time, as the availability of hospital beds is under strain, the Government will work together in cooperation with Osaka and first of all get a greater number of hospital beds at the national level dedicated to treating coronavirus patients. I have already issued instructions in that regard. That is what we are doing at the moment.